page_title: Battle of Krasny Bor
section_title: Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Krasny Bor / Background / Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda
caption_attribution_description: English: Soviet Plan for Operation Polar Star February-March 1943
context_page_description: The Battle of Krasny Bor was part of the Soviet offensive Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda. It called for a pincer attack near Leningrad, to build on the success of Operation Iskra and completely lift the Siege of Leningrad, encircling a substantial part of the German 18th Army. The offensive near the town of Krasny Bor, formed the western arm of the pincer. The Soviet offensive began on Wednesday, 10 February 1943, it produced noticeable gains on the first day but rapidly turned into a stalemate. The strong defense of the Spanish Blue Division and the German SS Polizei Division gave the German forces time to reinforce their positions. By February 13, the Soviet forces had stopped their offensive in this sector.
context_section_description: Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda tried to build on the success of Operation Iskra and began only days later. Zhukov, who had overseen Iskra, was promoted to marshal of the Soviet Union on January 18, the day the two Soviet Fronts linked up and broke the blockade. This foresaw a three-front attack by the Northwestern Front [roughly equivalent to an army group], under Marshal Semyon Timoshenko; the Volkhov Front under Colonel General Kirill Meretskov, and the Leningrad Front under Colonel General Leonid Govorov, of which the 55th Army was now a part. The Northwestern Front was to attack the Ramushevo Corridor, which connected the Demyansk Salient, held by the Germans to their main positions since 1942. The destruction of the bulk of the German 16th Army in the pocket would allow the Front to exploit the gap in the German lines. The Leningrad and Volkov Fronts were to capitalize on the fact that the German 18th Army was stretched very thin in the January fighting and attack the army's flanks, aiming to link up near Tosno. Again, this would create a gap in the German lines. Overall, the goal of the offensive was nothing short of decisively defeating Army Group North and advancing to Lake Chud.
  The 55th Army's objective was to break open the vital Leningrad-Moscow Highway, starting from its jump-off position in Kolpino towards Tosno; it was to join up with a northbound pincer attack of the 54th Army of the Volkhov Front, thereby encircling German formations in the Mga sector. The highway is an important road/railway connection linking Moscow and Leningrad. The pivot point for this highway was Krasny Bor, situated between the highway and the railway line. 55th Army's attack would also hit sectors defended by other German formations which were established to secure flanks and draw them into battle. Once this attack had succeeded, the plan was for the second echelon forces to advance through the gap towards Tosno. The attack was planned for 10 February 1943, and was to jump off from Kolpino. The 55th Army planned to attack with a force of approximately 40,000 men and 30 tanks in first echelon, to be followed by a mobile group consisting of the 122nd Tank Brigade and the 35th Ski Brigade.
caption: Soviet plan for Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda in the context of the wider offensive in the northern and central parts of the front
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